Nvidia has announced that the SHIELD’s GameStream service will roll out to the public on Oct. 28, and that a new ‘console mode’ will afford new functionality to the handheld in a manner similar to micro-consoles like the Ouya and the PS Vita TV.

Nvidia’s SHIELD handheld is a curious device, and the graphics firm is keen on giving it an edge in the market. The gaming peripheral’s $299 price tag has deferred many gamers, but Nvidia aims to offer a few incentives to help win over the crowd.

Among Nvidia’s choice offerings is the GameStream–one of the handheld’s most touted functions–which leaves its beta stage and rolls out on Oct. 28, as well as a brand new unveiled function called “console mode”. The GameStream mode offers access to over “50 PC games”, and will eventually support Nvidia’s Grid cloud gaming service.

Console mode is something different for the handheld: essentially the mode transforms the SHIELD into a micro-console not unlike Mad Catz’s Android-based MOJO or Japan’s PS Vita TV.

To tap into the Shield’s Console Mode, players will have to attach the handheld to a HDTV via HDMI cable, attach a Nyko PlayPad Pro Bluetooth controller, and players can “watch their favorite movies at native 1080p,” stream PC games and play Android games, and even surf the web.

Nvidia will also offer a $100 savings on the SHIELD starting Oct. 28 along with free copies of the following titles: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Batman: Arkham Origins.

The company should deliver more details on which retailers will be taking part in the discounted promotions sometime soon. Be sure to head on over to Nvidia’s official announcement for more info.